A video featuring cancer-stricken children, their nurses, doctors and parents lip-synching and dancing to the popular Kelly Clarkson song "Stronger" has become an online sensation. Clarkson is calling their rendition "amazing." (May 11)

Some people leaned over the railing to shout words of encouragement, and Soba, of Hooksett, guided Sam from above. Manchester firefighters arrived to help, trying to lead Sam to a small patch of land. Sam followed the voices of Soba and other rescuers, doggy paddling down river.

Firefighter Joel Monroe rappelled down the wall and dove in to get the dog. A rescue boat arrived to carry Sam back to shore and return him to the arms of his owner.

(Sam) was excited. He started barking," Monroe said. "He was glad to be back on land. So, yeah, it went well." .......

Friday, May 11, 2012

CONCORD, N.H. -- For the New England cottontail, mild winter conditions were a stroke of luck – a lack of snow made it easier for them to hide and find food. For the biologists who are surveying cottontails, the same conditions made it maddeningly difficult to find evidence of their presence. The challenges have not slowed the efforts of biologists from New Hampshire Fish and Game's Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Program, along with partners across the Northeast, to ensure the survival of this state-endangered native rabbit.

Over the past few years, Fish and Game has worked with University of New Hampshire researchers, who developed protocols for detecting New England cottontails and creating population estimates from survey results. Fish and Game staff helped collect data and are continuing to look for any rabbits that may not have been identified during the previous years' work and to confirm the persistence of individual rabbits at the occupied patches.

To find out how many New England cottontails are left and just where they are found, biologists usually look for evidence of the rabbits' presence in the snow. Needless to say, last winter there wasn't much snow in which to track rabbits in New Hampshire!

Monitoring for New England cottontails provides information about the location of remaining individuals, but the road to recovery for the species lies in the management efforts that are being done to increase the amount of available habitat on the landscape and number of rabbits that occupy these patches.

Many habitat management tools are used to create the “thickets” that New England cottontails need for survival -- the same type of brambly patch that saved Br'er Rabbit many a time. Timber harvesting, invasive species removal, and planting of native shrubs and forbs for cover and food are three techniques that Fish and Game has been using to turn historic cottontail habitat to its shrubby, scrubby ideal. These management actions are based on a scientific species recovery plan that will benefit New England cottontails as well as dozens of other species, such as chestnut-sided warbler, smooth green snake and American woodcock, which require healthy young forests and shrublands. To date, more than 300 acres of new habitat have been created on both public and private lands since 2009. An additional 1,700 acres is needed to meet the goal for available habitat in New Hampshire by 2030.
After we build it, New England cottontails will come; we need to be patient, however, because it may take up to 5 years of growth for the new thicket to be suitable for rabbits to live in.In the meantime, working with partners at the Roger Williams Park Zoo in Providence, Rhode Island, biologists have established a pilot program for captive-breeding the cottontails. The goal is to breed New England cottontails in a controlled setting, using best practices to ensure genetic diversity and health in the animals, and then release the rabbits into the wild. This pilot program may be expanded to include other facilities across the Northeast – to augment declining populations across the region and reintroduce rabbits to their historic range.

While the warm, dry winter made things difficult for biologists, the weather was quite advantageous for the cottontails.The lack of snow provided better concealment for the rabbits, whose fur remains brown in the winter. It also improved conditions for the rabbits to forage on twigs, bark and buds of woody shrubs that can be difficult to access in soft, deep snow. In addition, the early spring brought green-up during the first part of the breeding season, providing high-quality nutrition for new litters of the year.

New Hampshire Fish and Game is working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Natural Resource Conservation Service and other conservation partners across six states in the Northeast to recover the New England cottontail. Once common in our state, the population of this rabbit has dwindled over the last 50 years, so that today this unique native mammal faces possible extinction. Learn more at http://newenglandcottontail.org.

It gave me chills every time. Tell me something (anything) that can be so expected and yet elicit such a powerfully surprising response every single time. Every. Single. Time.

Carl Beane was perfectly suited forFenway Park, and not just for his voice. He was one of the "Fenway Characters" - a loving term for those folks you know just belong here and make this place what it is. The man was about as funny as they come - one of those guys that you'd just see roaming the halls of the ballpark and you'd chuckle and find yourself...

Bicycle, Pedestrian Path Will Be Part Of 80-Mile Trail

SALEM, N.H. -- Work is expected to start soon to clear the way for a bicycle and pedestrian trail along a former railroad track in southern New Hampshire.
The work in Salem will be part of an 80-mile rail trail from Lawrence, Mass., to Lebanon, N.H.
The Eagle-Tribune reported that the town and New Hampshire Department of Transportation still need to negotiate agreements for use of the former Boston & Maine Railroad tracks.
Salem selectmen voted Monday to finalize the details with the state. The rail trail, proposed more than a decade ago, extends 5.1 miles through Salem. The trail passes through Windham, Derry and Londonderry.

SALEM — There's hope at the end of the trail for a local project that's been years in the making.

Work is expected to begin soon to clear the way for Salem's portion of a bicycle and pedestrian trail that would someday extend about 80 miles from Lawrence to Lebanon.

But first, the town and state Department of Transportation need to negotiate agreements for use of the former Boston & Maine Railroad tracks.

Salem selectmen voted unanimously Monday to authorize Town Manager Keith Hickey to finalize the details with the state.

The rail trail, proposed more than a decade ago, extends 5.1 miles through Salem. The trail passes through Windham, Derry and Londonderry as well.

The Nevada-based Iron Horse Preservation Society has offered to remove part of the old track and would start when given the word, Salem community development director William Scott said.

The nonprofit organization of train enthusiasts volunteers its services, funding the work through the sale of old tracks and equipment for the preservation of historic railroads.

The group has been working on the rail trail in Methuen.

But negotiating the necessary agreements could take a while, according to David Topham of the Salem Bike-Ped Corridor Committee.

Approval is needed from the DOT, the attorney general's office and the Executive Council, he said.

Topham is optimistic, but the big question that remains is when work would begin.

"We don't feel there is any major obstacle at all," he said. "It just takes a while to push the paperwork through."

Windham and Derry are mostly done with their portions of the trail, he said. Scott said he will meet with Windham officials in the next week.

Londonderry is early in the process. The project will be funded through a $1.27 million federal transportation grant requiring a 20 percent local match. Salem must raise roughly $220,000 through private sources, Topham said.

"The town is basically looking for the funds to come up with the match money," he said. "The money is not coming from the taxpayers."

Linda Harvey, also a member of the Salem Bike-Ped Corridor Committee, has been pushing for the project since 1999. She said she will be glad when work finally begins.

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

May is National Bike Month. And as a friend told me yesterday, "Biking feels like flying!"

It's true: On a bike, you can smell the flowers, feel the wind in your face, beat the traffic, and help the climate.

Everyone deserves access to clean, affordable transportation choices like biking -- but many communities don't have the infrastructure they need to safely replace car trips with biking. With your help, we can do better.

Well, thanks to a Department of Transportation pilot program, several communities in Missouri, California, Minnesota, and Wisconsin have seen more bikers and pedestrians, safer streets, and an estimated savings of 7,701 tons of climate pollution every year since 2010. 1

Biking isn't just fun -- it also beats paying $4 at the pump. If American drivers traded just one weekly four-mile car trip for a bike ride, we'd save $4.6 billion and 2 billion gallons of gas every year.

Tens of thousands of Americans will spend a little extra time on their bikes for National Bike Month, and I hope you'll join them. Start by letting decision makers know: We need safer biking infrastructure.

We're proud to be partnering with the League of American Bicyclists, the National Council of La Raza, and other allies to make Bike Month a big success. Join us by contacting our elected leaders today -- and then hop on a bike for a new look at your community.

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

NEWBURYPORT — It wasn't exactly as easy as shooting fish in a barrel, but those angling for striped bass Sunday were in luck, as schools of the immensely popular game fish were spotted along the shorelines over the weekend.

Stripers were so plentiful Sunday that, according to Surfland Bait and Tackle's Kay Moulton, they were pushing bait fish toward the beaches.

Unfortunately, those hoping to catch a little of that action yesterday weren't as fortunate. For some reason, the stripers were far and few in between, Moulton said.

"I'm afraid we told everybody, 'You should have been here yesterday,'" she said.

Regardless, the sight of so many bass over the weekend leaves little doubt that the striper season has returned to the Greater Newburyport area, more than a week earlier than normal.

On Sunday, fishermen crowded beaches along Plum Island, and others launched their small craft in the Merrimack River from a mobbed Cashman Park.

"It's all starting to happen: more boats, more people," Newburyport harbormaster Paul Hogg said yesterday.

Stripers are one of the most popular game fish in the region, drawing hundreds of fishermen to the area's most popular fishing spots: the mouth of the Merrimack River, Plum Island Beach, Deer Island in Amesbury and Joppa Flats in Newburyport. They can grow to almost 5 feet long, and their meat is highly prized by fish lovers.

Moulton and Hogg agreed that the striped bass season is starting a little early this season. Typically, the fish swim up the Atlantic coastline from their spawning grounds in Chesapeake Bay, near Maryland and Virginia, and into the region by mid-May.

Both believe that warmer water temperatures are a main reason for the relatively early start to the season. Such an assumption was likely aided by the earlier than usual arrival of herring, the popular bait fish for stripers. The herring, called alewives, were spotted in late March by the thousands in the Parker River in Newbury, weeks earlier than expected. In late March, the temperature reached an abnormal high of around 80.

On Sunday, the bait of choice was sea worms, which Moulton said were the hottest item that day.

"Sea worms really work well in the beginning of the year," he said.

Already, a half-dozen fishermen have had their photos taken with their bass and affixed to a wall display inside Moulton's Plum Island store. According to the state's recreational saltwater fishing regulations, striped bass can be kept only if they are 28 inches or longer. The biggest striper on Moulton's bulletin board as of yesterday was a 15-pound, 4-ounce fish caught by Andy Kelley on May 3.

Richard Hogg of Crossroads Bait and Tackle in Salisbury said he heard reports of a 47-incher caught off Salisbury Beach and multiple 30-inch-plus stripers caught off Cashman Park.

"The season has been pretty good for the last couple of weeks," Hogg, father of Paul Hogg, said.

Both Richard and Paul Hogg said stripers have been traveling far inland, having been caught at the Great Stone Dam in Lawrence.

"They're following the bait," Richard Hogg said.

But Richard Hogg said that if weather reports of days of rain for the region come true, it could seriously curtail the number of stripers caught as freshwater runoff enters the saltwater sections of the river.

REI.com is the Internet's largest outdoor store, offering a broad selection of trusted gear as well as expert advice and in-depth information about products and outdoor recreation.

The bill included language that purports to exclude national parks and national monuments from hunting and recreational shooting, but is so poorly drafted that it could result in hunting being permitted in national parks like Yellowstone and the Great Smoky Mountains. In addition, it ignores the many national park unit designations that also do not allow hunting, such as national historical parks, national military parks, national memorials, etc. The House had the opportunity to exempt units of the National Park System from the bill by voting in support of a technical clarifying amendment offered by Representative Rush Holt (NJ-12). Sadly, Mr. Holt’s amendment was rejected.

The bill has now moved on to the Senate where NPCA is working to get this harmful language removed and ensure a genuine exclusion for the National Park System that does not change current law.

Take Action: Please tell your representative you are disappointed to learn that they voted against Rep. Holt’s amendment on the Sportsmen’s Heritage Act which would have exempted the National Park System from the bill.

It's important to let our elected officials know when they don't do the right thing for our national parks. Thank you for taking a moment to express your disappointment in your representative. Perhaps next time they will do better by voting to protect national parks.

SHIRLEY, Mass. -- A pit bull named Lilly is being hailed a hero after she pulled her unconscious owner from the path of a freight train last weekend.

An engineer of a westward-bound freight train saw a dog pulling a woman away from the tracks in the early hours of May 4 in Shirley. The engineer tried to stop, but couldn't avoid hitting the 8-year-old dog.

The woman, identified as Christine Spain, wasn't hurt, but the train's wheels sliced through Lilly's right foot, fractured her pelvis in multiple locations and caused other internal injuries.

When EMTs arrived at the scene, Lilly was covered in blood but still standing guard over her owner, who had collapsed next to the tracks while walking home from a friend’s house.

The dog was initially taken to an emergency animal hospital in Acton, and she was then taken by Spain's son, Boston police Officer David Lanteigne, to Angell Animal Medical Center in Boston.

Lanteigne said he had adopted the dog for his mother three years before, and Lilly's companionship helped curb her drinking.

"Lilly's recovery from this horrific ordeal is my top priority right now and I'll do everything possible to get her back home to us," he said.

Lilly is undergoing extensive treatment at MSPCA-Angell. To make a donation to Lilly's care and treatment, click here.

Lots to see and plenty of trails to walk, run, bike, or horseback. Today's visit was overrun with Baltimore Orioles. They seemed to be everywhere you looked today. A miniature horse club was on the trail today with harness carts. Adorable little guys trotting along the trails! There were lots of horses and it appeared there was a Greyhound club meeting on the open green today. Life is Good!

The trails were very busy today but still private enough to enjoy when you shoot off on the little side trails to check out the scenery or sitting along the shore of the river on a tree branch or on an outcropping of rocks along the way.

If you are lucky we were not today, you may have an opportunity to see a Bald Eagle or two while in the Park. There is a closed area of the park during certain months for nesting purposes. The trails are overall easy without much elevation change, so it is comfortable for all.

State Park
In 1985 the property was acquired by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Management to become Maudslay State Park. The main gate, the drives, the stone bridges and overlooks have survived, as well as stands of lilac, rhododendron and some of the fruit trees. The sites of the grand houses have been leveled. The tops of the foundations are visible in the mowed lawn. The swimming pool of the main house is empty and is choked with thickets. Except for select locations, the gardens and greenhouses have fallen into ruin, the walls scarcely visible on the overgrown hillside. The dairy farm on the property survived and was a working farm in good repair until the early 1980s.

The park service has added a parking lot. A nearby house became the park headquarters. A staff of rangers and grounds employees maintain the meadows and trails and conduct guided tours; however, visitors are welcome to hike the trails, except for areas restricted for ecological purposes. A memorial running course has been delineated. It winds through the meadows and pines. Rest rooms and shower facilities were constructed in the parking lot. Equestrian parties on the larger trails are common. The horses are often brought in privately in trailers, which park in the meadow next to the lot.

Since 1987, Maudslay State Park has been the home of Theater in the Open, which performs three live outdoor shows in the park throughout the year. The theater is also is known for their giant puppet pageant every May called "The Rites of Spring" and their walk in October called "Maudslay is Haunted".

On April 3, 2010 around 1:58 P.M., the Coachman's Barn, which was customarily used for the Theater in the Open, caught fire. The Newburyport, Salisbury and Amesbury Fire Departments got the blaze under control around 3:30 P.M. Only the stone foundation and the chimney survived. The chimney has been taken down for safety reasons. The small house next to the barn was largely untouched.